Data Storage Devices (DSDs) are often used to record data onto or to reproduce data from a storage media. One type of storage media includes a rotating magnetic disk where a magnetic head of the DSD can read and write data in tracks on a surface of the disk, such as in a Hard Disk Drive (HDD).
Certain portions of a disk surface may have defects that prevent reliable storage of data in that location on the disk surface. The defects can include primary defects (i.e., P defects) that are identified during a manufacturing process of the DSD or grown defects (i.e., G defects) that appear in the field during operation of the DSD. These defects are typically “mapped out” using a defect map so that the defective locations on the disk surface are no longer available for storing data.
As the storage capacity of DSDs increases, the size of the defect map for the DSD also typically increases, which can reduce the overall storage capacity available to a user of the DSD. In addition, the processing time for larger defect maps is increased.